Nyala Farms sale means $325,000 in taxes

Anne M. Amato

Published 10:46 pm, Friday, July 18, 2014

The Nyala Farms coroprate center, a 50-acre office complex that is the town's second-largest taxpayer, was sold June 27 for $130 million -- largest real estate transaction in town history -- to Building and Land Technology, a Stamford developer that had been working on a cancelled plan to build a new headquarters in Stamford for Westport-based Bridgewater Associates. The deal generated $325,000 in conveyance taxes for the town.
Photo: File Photo

WESTPORT -- Not only was it the largest real estate transaction in Westport's history, it also generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue for town coffers.

The recent $130 million sale of the 53-acre Nyala Farms corporate office park by Florida-based Nyala Farms Inc. to Stamford-based 60 Nyala Farms Road LLC produced $325,000 in conveyance taxes, according to documents filed in the Town Clerk's Office.

Conveyance taxes paid to the town are deposited in the general fund, said Town Clerk Patty Strauss. The transaction also generated conveyance taxes of $1,625,000 for the state, she said.

There were also "mortgage, assignment and agreements" that were filed with the warranty deed in June, she said.

Land and more

The sale includes two tracts of land, totaling almost 53 acres in the Greens Farms section of town, as well as five office buildings on the site.

The property had been assessed at $78,264,810 on the 2013 grand list, the second-largest among local taxpayers.

On Monday, Larry Bradley, the town's planning and zoning director, said no plans for any potential expansion on the Nyala site have yet been filed with his department.

Last month, Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, backed out of a state-brokered deal to move from Westport to a new headquarters in Stamford. Company officials have not said if the hedge fund will remain in Westport or look elsewhere for new quarters.

Bridgewater Associates currently maintains its trading floor and other offices at Nyala Farms and is the town's largest employer with its headquarters -- a 47,314-square-foot complex -- at 1 Glendining Place. That property, which is assessed at $25,478,050, was the third-largest on last year's grand list of taxpayers.

On the same day that Bridgewater pulled out of the Stamford deal, its development partner in that proposed move -- Building and Land Technology -- purchased Nyala Farms under the 60 Nyala Farms Road LLC name.